Hard Times
by TalliW
Summary: Lester's left behind in a world devoid of humankind but then he finds home.


The man blinked in the blazing afternoon sun. It had been three weeks since he had last felt the warming rays on his skin.

The time spent locked up in a large atomic bomb shelter with the Prime Minister and some of his staff, defended by a bunch of tough soldiers, ready to kill anyone who dared to approach the tunnel system leading outdoors, had been hell.

James Lester smiled bitterly. The world was peaceful on this summer's day.

Birds twittered around him, busy taking care of the next generation; a soft breeze ran through the trees, moving the twigs and leaves softly in the wind. No roaring of machines, no humming of cars or even the sound of laughter or weeping disturbed the voices of nature anymore.

He started to walk, not sure where he was or where to go, just setting one foot in front of the other while he draw air deeply into his lungs, enjoying the fresh scent after all the sickly smell of death and decay.

They had felt so safe at first behind metre thick walls deep underground.

But the bunker had failed to protect them against the tiny enemy already flowing through their veins.

One by one they had died, blood oozing out of every pore, painting the rooms with a rusty red.

And in all the madness the soldiers, already showing the first signs of sickness themselves, had obeyed their orders until the end, shooting seemingly well people who only wanted to get out to go home to their families.

James Lester had waited for the first trickle of blood from his body but it never came. Then he had waited for the soldiers to die. The moment the automatic rifle had slid out of the hands of the last one, he had moved through the corridors, hoping someone else was still alive.

The first day he'd seen a handful people, looking at him full of hope, thinking that he could help or would take charge. He hadn't stopped for a moment, already knowing they were doomed to die. He just walked on.

James Lester ate when he was hungry and slept when he was tired. The houses and shops providing shelter and food enough for a single man.

He'd learnt to ignore the corpses, even the hollow eyes of the children didn't bother him anymore.

The last newspaper he had found, dated 18 days ago, had told of a lab accident somewhere in one of dozens of military facilities all over the world. He didn't care if it was true. It wasn't important after all.

The manor was empty, only some bloodstains in the bedrooms told him what had happened. He found four burial mounds behind the house. On a makeshift wooden cross he read his wife's name.

They must have been some of the first to have died to have got the privilege of a burial.  
He looked down to the graves of his family and felt nothing.

The building was as impressive as he remembered. But the rooms once filled with life were vacant.

Most of the equipment was gone, just like the people who had worked here with him. Also the cages of the animals were empty.  
A single tear slid down Lester's face. How he wished the mammoth was still there to provide him with some company.

The house he'd never visited before showed no sign of life. But there were large gaps in the bookshelves and clothes were strewn in the bedroom like someone had needed to make an abrupt departure. He inspected the fossilised bone on the desk and touched the ammonite, shedding another tear when the image of a blond, headstrong maverick sitting behind this desk assaulted him.

The flat he'd never entered before was cold and empty. A Star Trek DVD lay abandoned on the floor.  
He dropped sadly down on his knees, crying as he pressed the DVD case against his chest, seeing the goofy face of a young man and a vibrant girl in crazy clothes before his mind's eye.

He didn't go to another flat, realising he wouldn't find the feisty woman there, who he'd respected so much.

They were gone like the rest of the people, leaving him behind in a world devoid of humankind.

The forest welcomed him like an old friend. Twigs softly caressed his arms, squirrels clambered about the trees trying to cheer him up and a jay chatted from a treetop.

The light from the Anomaly, looking shattered like his heart and mind felt, greeted him in the same place as the first time over two years ago.

Without wasting any thoughts he walked through, hoping to find a quick end in the clutches of some carnivore, who would do what he wasn't strong enough to do for himself.

He gaped at the mammoth with a blond girl on his back, moving a log up a hill and at the people busy building a ring-fence.

Slowly he staggered closer, still not sure that he wasn't hallucinating.

A familiar woman with long brown hair caught him in her arms and wept.

"How?" he croaked, his voice unused to speech after weeks of silence.

After Jenny Lewis had composed herself she started to tell their story while she lead him in direction of a cave.

"We figured out that everyone who had come into contact with prehistoric animals was immune to the virus that had been created. We managed to bring as many people into contact with the mammoth and Rex as possible. Unfortunately most people were already infected by then and our revelation came to late.  
We had to leave when some of the military arrived, already sick, but determined to arrest us. As the Anomaly Detector went we took flight. There are currently 186 human survivor and two woman are in late stages of pregnancy."

Jenny touched his arm happily.  
"James, it's so good to have you here at last. We didn't hear anything from you after your meeting with the Prime Minister after the first people had fallen ill.  
But we still hoped you'd escaped the madness and you would find us. The Anomaly to the Forest of Dean only opens occasionally. But then weeks passed and there was no sign of you.... My God, I'm so glad you did make it."

"Cutter?" he asked hoarsely.

"Is inside, he had a small incident with a tree and the medic insisted he get some rest. Of course, he didn't like the order, but our Doc was adamant" she declared with a smile.

Lester walked inside the cavern to the only occupied bed at the rear and slumped down on the ground, his legs too weak to held him up any longer. The memories of the last terrible weeks flooded him as he put his head on the bed exhausted.

Nick Cutter slowly lifted himself up and stared at the man in disbelief.

Suddenly, he pulled Lester into in his arms, his voice rough and breathy as he whispered against the other man's neck. "I've missed you so much, you old pen-pusher."

Hearing the well-known voice, James Lester broke down, a sob escaping his lips and he pushed his body against the other man, desperately searching for some comfort.

Nick Cutter held him in his arms, gently stroking his back and whispering soft words as Lester sniveled against his chest.

He continued long after Lester had fallen asleep.

In the morning James woke up to the feeling of a soft kiss on his cheek, rough stubble scraping over his skin, in marked contrast to the softness of the lips.

He'd never been kissed by a man and he certainly hadn't ever wanted to be, but that James Lester had died together with the million people in the old world, which he'd now left behind forever.

He felt Cutter move away from him, trying to give him space and not to make him uncomfortable with waking up in the arms of a man he'd disliked in the past and in whose arms he'd broken down last night.

The Professor was surprised when strong hands pushed him on his back and a lean body rolled on top of him.

Tentatively, James' lips touched Cutter's mouth and the man under him groaned softly.

The moment Nick opened his lips James delved in with his tongue.  
Nick Cutter tasted both sweet and sour at once, like the rhubarb tart his grandmother had made.

And for the first time in his adult life James Lester felt safe and sound.

Kissing Nick was like coming home.


End file.
